Apparatus for cooling wire on a roller conveyor

ABSTRACT

A conveyor has a multiplicity of spaced rollers transporting a succession of overlapping wire loops in a transport direction. A cooling apparatus has side walls above and below the conveyor forming a vertical shaft, a cover displaceable between a closed position closing an upper end of the shaft and an open position clear of the upper shaft end, and a fan underneath the shaft for directing an air stream upward along the shaft through the conveyor. A floor plate is displaceable between a closed position at least partially closing a lower end of the shaft and blocking the air stream and a position clear of the lower shaft end.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a wire-cooling apparatus. More particularly this invention concerns such an apparatus for cooling overlapping wire loops being displaced on a roller conveyor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Wire or rod, after manufacture, is typically arrayed as overlapping loops on a roller conveyor for movement away from the drawing mill or other facility it was made in. The wire is extremely hot and must be cooled before it can be wound into coils or otherwise further prepared for eventual shipment and use. To cool the overlapping wire loops it is standard to simply direct a blast of air against them. This is done in a vertical blast air shaft mounted above and below the roller conveyor and completely closable from above by means of a cover and from below by a floor plate.

Such devices serve for cooling the wire rod which is transported out of a mill train and set by a looper in continuous overlapping loops on a conveyor which is moved in to a normally horizontal straight line, principally a roller conveyor, with air blown from the bottom against and between the rolls of the roller conveyor. As the mass of the wire loops lying on the roller conveyor due to the material accumulation at the crossing points varies considerably, there is a different heat distribution over the supporting surface area of the loops, so it is necessary to also distribute the intensity of the cooling accordingly over the support surface area of the wire.

According to EP 730 917 of Plociennik, blast nozzles are provided between the rolls of the roller conveyor in the form of a longitudinal slot each of whose outlet opening can be altered by means of a swivelling flap is disposed in the nozzle and movable to alter the flow cross-section thereof. By means of this arrangement only variations of the quantity and thus, of the cooling effect of the blast airflow across the width of the roller conveyor are possible.

In FR 2 677 904 of Durighello the roller conveyor is situated above a blast air shaft that is vertically directed upwards and that holds a number of air guiding vanes that are pivotably adjustable and plate shaped. These form adjacent air routing channels for air streams that are directed against the roller conveyor and the wire loops sitting on it. Pivotally adjusting these vanes allows areas of the rod wire loops lying on the roller conveyor to be subjected to an air stream in a strong or in a less strong manner. The device according to this disclosure consists of a plurality of rectangular plates that form the air-guiding vanes. These rectangular plates are connected below the roller conveyor at longitudinal edges to supports which are running parallel to the transport level thereof that are carried threaded spindles driven by a servomotor. Shifting several of these vanes horizontally adjacent to each other and in pairs to each other, forms several air routing channels for the blast air. Cross-section and positioning of these air routing channels under the roller conveyor can be modified and determined by transverse displacements of the suspension over the supports sitting on the threaded spindles by means of servomotors.

This device is technically complicated and very sensitive. It requires several threaded spindles and their individual motors as well as controls and considerable expertise to operate, as well as painstaking maintenance of the threaded spindles and the support body which are permanently exposed to the blast airflow and to the fouling caused by the cinders that fall from the roller conveyor and the wire it carries.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for cooling wire on a roller conveyor.

Another object is the provision of such an improved apparatus for cooling wire on a roller conveyor that overcomes the above-given disadvantages, in particular that requires considerably minor technical expense with few components, which is easy to control and not susceptible to fouling.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In combination with a conveyor having a multiplicity of spaced rollers transporting a succession of overlapping wire loops in a transport direction, a cooling apparatus has according to the invention side walls above and below the conveyor forming a vertical shaft, a cover displaceable between a closed position closing an upper end of the shaft and an open position clear of the upper shaft end, a fan underneath the shaft for directing an air stream upward along the shaft through the conveyor, a floor plate displaceable between a closed position at least partially closing a lower end of the shaft and blocking the air stream and a position clear of the lower shaft end, and actuator means for shifting the floor plate between its open and closed positions.

This object is therefore attained in that the floor plate consists of a plate or of several sections that are pivotable or displaceable and that can be brought into an freeing (open) or blocking (closed) position. Thus as further provided by the invention, the floor plate can consist of several sections and the blast air flow can be directed to selected portions of the loop support area of the roller conveyor by movement of selected sections between the freeing or blocking positions. The sections or groups of sections can have individual, separate and controllable blast air producers or fans. The sections can be pivotable, lying opposite each other in pairs, and movable about axes disposed in a common plane of the shaft cross-section, from positions with vertical air-guiding vanes into positions, in which the vanes are perpendicular to the sections.

The device of the invention requires, unlike the known devices, only simple planar plates as air conducting elements with only two fixed swivelling positions. The plates can for example be embedded and removed easily e. g. for the purpose of cleaning or exchanging. For swivelling them, simple piston-cylinder units are sufficient.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The above and other objects, features, and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical section through a roller conveyor and blast air shaft; and

FIG. 2 is a view like FIG. 1 but showing with another design of air conducting elements.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION

As seen in FIG. 1, rolls 10 of the roller conveyor are disposed in bearings 12 on a support frame 14 and are surrounded by side walls defining a vertical blast air shaft 16 of square section, seen from above. The blast air shaft 16 has a cover 18 supported by a pivotal lifter 20. Spaced underneath a lower end of the blast air shaft 16 is a fan or blower 22 that supplies cooling blast air to the shaft 16 in the vertical direction of arrow P1. Each of two opposite side walls 24 of the blast air shaft 16 pivotally carries a respective floor-plate section 26, both sections 26 being of the same size and pivoted about axes 26A parallel to the horizontal transport direction of the conveyor, which here is perpendicular to the view plane of FIG. 1. These sections 26 can be pivoted and fixed by means of the servomotors 28 which are respectively connected to them for pivoting about the axes 26A as shown by the arrows PS between a vertical open position shown in FIG. 1 on the left side and a horizontal closed position shown on the right side. It is possible for both of the sections 26 to be open to completely clear the flow cross-section of the shaft 16, or block either half of it. According to the invention it is possible to provide more or less cooling effect to one side or the other of the conveyor. Vertical guide vanes 30 are provided to direct edge flow inward. Here a workpiece w comprises of a multiplicity of overlapping wire turns is transported the transport direction.

The design of the device according to FIG. 2 corresponds to that according to FIG. 1 except that below the two vertical shaft walls 24, there are disposed respectively pairs of sections 26 a and 26 b that are all of the same size. Each pair itself can be pivoted independently from the other by means of a respective actuator or servomotor 28 a or 28 b as shown by the double arrows PSa and PSb into horizontal or vertical positions. Below this there are outlets of conduits 32 a, 32 b, and 32 c of several blowers 22 a, 22 b, and 22 c having upper-end outlets 34 a, 34 b, and 3 c. The blast air flows shown at 36 a, 36 b, and 36 c that exit therefrom can be directed to certain portions of the support surface of the roller conveyor via control of the position of the sections 26 a and 26 b. In the position of FIG. 2 all the flow is directed to the left side by closing both sections 26 b that are ganged. Regulating the positions of the sections 26 a and 26 b of the individual blowers 22 a, 22 b, and 22 c enables adaptation of the intensity of the different blast air streams and the cooling effect of the blast air flows for particular portions of the support surface of the roller conveyor formed by the horizontal array or rollers 10.

As can further be seen in FIG. 2, air-guiding vales 30 a and 30 b are provided below the roller conveyor rolls 10 and above the pivot axes of the plate sections 26 a and 26 b. They serve to ensure vertical upward air flow. 

1. In combination with a conveyor having a multiplicity of spaced rollers transporting a succession of overlapping wire loops in a transport direction, a cooling apparatus comprising: side walls above and below the conveyor forming a vertical shaft; a cover displaceable between a closed position closing an upper end of the shaft and an open position clear of the upper shaft end; means including a fan underneath the shaft for directing an air stream upward along the shaft through the conveyor; a floor plate displaceable between a closed position at least partially closing a lower end of the shaft and blocking the air stream and a position clear of the lower shaft end; and actuator means for shifting the floor plate between its open and closed positions.
 2. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein the floor plate is formed by a plurality of independently operable floor sections.
 3. The combination defined in claim 2 wherein there are a plurality of the fans each aligned with a respective floor section.
 4. The combination defined in claim 2 wherein the floor sections are pivotal about horizontal axes and are horizontal in the closed positions and vertical in the open positions.
 5. The combination defined in claim 4 wherein the sections are substantially identical and each cover half of the lower end of the shaft.
 6. The combination defined in claim 4 wherein the axes extend parallel to the transport direction.
 7. The combination defined in claim 2 wherein there are two pairs of sections all pivotal about respective parallel axes.
 8. The combination defined in claim 7 wherein the sections to each side of a centerline of the shaft are ganged and connected together to the respective actuator.
 9. The combination defined in claim 7 wherein the sections of one pair are slightly below and overlap the sections of the other pair.
 10. The combination defined in claim 1, further comprising generally vertical air-guiding vanes between the floor plate and the conveyor.
 11. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein there are a plurality of the fans spaced apart transversely of the transport direction.
 12. The combination defined in claim 11 wherein each of the fans is provided with a respective upwardly open air conduit.
 13. The combination defined in claim 12 wherein the floor plate is formed by a plurality of sections each in a respective one of the conduits. 